Legal sector performs well in economic climate

New research has shown that law firms are ‘bucking the trend’ and performing well despite the ongoing economic difficulties.

A survey of 69 law firms by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward has found that two in five of those firms questioned increased their turnover last year. It also found that only 15% saw a drop in revenue of more than 10% over the year and there was widespread confidence about the 12 months ahead. The survey also gave hope in terms of job security with a quarter of firms planning to lay off up to 5% of their staff but three quarters saying they had no plans to make any redundancies.

Nick Carter-Pegg, head of professional services at BDO, said: “The outlook for professional services firms, and in particular the legal sector, is generally positive, which is at odds with the low levels of confidence in other sectors. There is a huge amount of change coming in the legal sector with the full implementation of the Legal Services Act in October 2011, but at least firms are now facing the future with confidence.”